NASCAR’s New Charter System

.The new NASCAR charter system has been put into place the past few weeks and drivers and teams are figuring out what they are going to do about it in the many different aspects it encompasses. One example of what they are going to have to learn is how to restructure financials to fit in with their budgets so that drivers are getting paid similar amounts for their contracts compared to the old system that NASCAR drivers were once using before.

For example the old system used to use an entry blank that had the purse or prize based on where the driver had finished and other awards for where the team had last won in preceding years. Now with the new contract the systems have changed a little bit. NASCAR’s CEO Brent Dewar has said that the fixed portion of the purse will go to charter teams and another portion of it will go to charter teams that are based on the team’s performance of the past three years. Thus the amount is going to fluctuate based on the performance of each team throughout the past three years.

Demands Coming to Fruition

The new team charter idea has been talked about for multiple years and is important in NASCAR. Many drivers and teams felt like this was long overdue.

If a team loses and places amongst the bottom for three consecutive years in a row then there is a possibility that they will be able to lose their charter. It isn’t a guarantee that NASCAR is going to take away the team’s charter but the possibility is still open for that to occur.

Another aspect of the new charter rules is that the money in the pool is going to increase by around three to four percent a year. Dewar stated, “There is a slope to every piece of the curve with the exception of the fixed, whether you’re a fixed open or a fixed charter. The charter system is designed to create stability, but three of the four elements are performance-based.”

Driver & Team Relationship

On top of the new rules NASCAR is also not going to disclose how much a driver makes in each race report on a weekly basis. The money has always gone to the team and then been paid to the drivers afterwards for a fair amount based on contracts and mutual trust between the driver and the team.

Drivers have a rough idea of how much they should be getting paid during each race and are continuing to trust their team in the area of new rules being implemented. Many drivers have agents who negotiate with the teams and NASCAR for their amount of the payment. The drivers are confident that their owners will be working for their benefit and not much will change for them as they can keep focusing on turning left and driving in the races. Sticking to what they do best and have a good time doing it.